Singaporean investor Mapletree Investments is buying a trio of prime regional office buildings as it looks to diversify its interests outside Asia.
The company, which is backed by Singaporean state-owned Temasek, has agreed to pay close to £365m for 3 Hardman Street, Manchester; One Glass Wharf, Bristol and the IQ building in Aberdeen. The price reflects a yield of close to 5.7%.
The deal has exchanged and is expected to complete in the next few weeks.
It comes at a time when some Far Eastern investors are looking to repatriate money to their turbulent domestic economies, while others are looking to spread risk outside of their own markets.
Code-named the Windsor portfolio, the buildings are owned by Aerium’s Glenn Arrow UK Property Fund. One of the primary investors in the vehicle, understood to be Bahraini bank Oasis Capital Bank, is selling its position in the fund.
According to Mapletree’s website, the company is “exploring investment opportunities in new markets such as Australia, Europe and the US, which will enable the group to scale up while balancing its existing Asian exposure”.
The deal is Mapletree’s first major purchase in Europe, following its acquisition of an office building in west London in May.
Mapletree has S$28.4bn (£13.1bn) of assets worldwide, manages four Singapore-listed REITs and is also a fund manager.
Aerium bought the 350,000 sq ft 3 Hardman Street for £183.4m from Allied London in 2010, the 216,172 sq ft One Glass Wharf for £83m from the administrators of Castlemore Securities in the same year and the 125,500 sq IQ building for £50.1m in 2011 from Hazledene.
If the deal completes it would represent a profit of close to £50m, or around 15%.
Aerium’s Glenn Arrow fund also includes One Wood Street, EC2, the 177,000 sq ft office it bought for £105.5m from Land Securities in 2009.
It subsequently sold an 80% stake in the building to insurance company Korea Life for £110m in 2012.
The fund manager is headed by chief executive Franck Ruimy. In March it sold a 15% stake in its business to US investor NorthStar Realty Finance Corp.
The deal is designed to provide capital to Aerium’s funds and investment initiatives and give NorthStar access to greater deal flow as it looks to establish a presence in Europe.
It manages €6.1bn (£4.5bn) of assets across 12 countries and is raising capital for its 17th fund, which will have a pan-European value-add strategy.
The Windsor portfolio is being sold through the London office of Eastdil Secured.
